Recently, I was asked about the difference between a good leader and a great leader.

During my many years at Social Leadership Australia, I’ve been asked this question over and over again, in different shapes and forms. But the question itself demonstrates the confusion we have as a society about leadership. MORE >

Collaboration is difficult work but it can be learned

One thing that doesn't change from year to year is the necessity and opportunity to work together. Unless you are Robinson Crusoe you’re always engaging with someone. And this has been the strongest theme for 2013 for me. Understanding the practice, purpose, and nature of collaboration has never before seemed to be more needed and vital. MORE >

'Politics' may be a dirty word but to succeed in leading change we must work politically. How?

In the wake of the recent election, we could be forgiven for wanting to run away from anything with political connotations. 'Politics' is often seen as a dirty word, but if you work in any organisational setting, large or small, then you are often working politically, whether you like it or not. And if we want to make progress on behalf of something we care about, then how we engage with others requires us to work politically. MORE >

Why we won't be voting for leadership

I woke up this morning with that Gil Scot Heron song in my head, 'The Revolution will not be televised'. It helped crystallise a lot of my recent thoughts about the invisibility of real leadership and the perceived absence of leadership in public life. The leadership we don’t see, so we don’t think it’s there. The leadership that doesn’t get televised. MORE >